Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah
Burns Road Karachi, Karachi City Sindh, Pakistan
Dear Chief Minister Shah,
We write to you as a group of concerned international citizens regarding the troubling case of Huma Younus. As you are hopefully aware, Huma is a Christian girl who was kidnapped in Sindh, forcefully converted to Islam, and made to marry her abductor, Abdul Jabbar. Since the abduction, Huma’s case has gained international attention and drawn cries for her justice from advocates around the world. Huma was 14 years old when Jabbar, a man regularly hired by Huma’s family for transportation purposes, abducted her at gunpoint in October of 2019. In the days that followed, Huma’s parents Younis and Nagheena Sasih started receiving messages via WhatsApp from Abdul’s brother with documents showing that Huma had married Abdul and converted to Islam.
However, further investigation of these documents clearly showed that they had been falsified, listing an incorrect date of birth for Huma that was meant to justify the marriage by falsely claiming that she was 18 years old. The abductors have continually sent Huma’s parents death threats, pressuring them to stop pursuing legal action against Abdul.
These messages show videos of guns being fired and included threatening language. Despite these threats, Huma’s parents have continually pursued legal action against Abdul, but without success.
A ruling by local courts has validated the marriage under Islamic law due to the fact that Huma had already started her menstrual cycles. Most recently, Huma’s parents lost their appeal of this decision, with the court ruling that Huma is to remain in the custody of her abductors despite the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act which forbids marriage under the age of 18 and Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code which invalidates any marriage which takes place between an abductor and abductee.
Huma has not seen her parents since her abduction ten months ago in October. The most recent reports indicate that Huma is now pregnant in the custody of her abductors, and is being held in a single room.
We urge you both to intervene in this dire situation, as the justice system has, to date, failed to right the blatant injustice present in Huma’s case. Huma was abducted by armed kidnappers, forcibly converted to Islam, raped, and compelled to marry her abductor against her will, a marriage that is illegal because Huma is below the age of consent.
We ask that you ensure that justice is served in this case and that Huma is returned to her family immediately!
Respectfully,
International Christian Concern
No comments:
Post a Comment